The Google Assistant has long been available on most modern phones and tablets. But given the fragmentation of the Android ecosystem, many older devices will never get the newer versions of Android that feature built-in support for the Assistant. Google is now bringing support for its voice-activated helper to phones running Android 5.0 and tablets running Android 6.0 and 7.0. Read More

Overhauling the creative economy turns out to be tricky. Following massive backlash, Patreon is at least temporarily pausing its plan to change its payment processing fee structure from charging creators 2-10% on the first of the next month to charging patrons 2.9 percent plus $0.35 per transaction upfront and on the monthly anniversary of their first pledge beyond the 5% Patreon takes. Read More

Aurora Flight Sciences is a company working on making full-scale autonomous combat craft a reality, and now some of its work is ready for prime time. The company showed off an autonomous helicopter created to demonstrate its Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System contribution for the Office of Naval Research’s ongoing work in the field, and it successfully navigated a UH-1H helicopter… Read More

Here’s a great present for a sports fan this holiday season: Fanchest is a Brooklyn-based startup that curates and sends team-themed gift boxes as gift. The boxes start at $59 and include about $80 worth of apparel and gear from whatever pro or college team you choose.
Today the startup has announced $4M in seed funding with a diverse group of investors like New Orleans Saints… Read More

One of the reasons recently IPO’d Stitch Fix became so popular among female shoppers is because of how it pairs the convenience of home try-on for clothing and accessories with a personal styling service that adapts to your tastes over time. But often, personal stylists bring their own subjective takes on fashion to their customers. A new startup called Lily aims to offer a more… Read More

It’s been a long year – it feels like it actually spanned about 50, in fact. But now, at the end, some relief: Mario Bear.
Yes, it’s just a bear from Build-A-Bear Workshop. And a ‘brand collaboration,’ that horrific thing that usually just means some executives get a larger Christmas bonus and more people are convinced to part with their hard-earned money for… Read More

Professional social networks like LinkedIn have long been a mainstay of business, but what if you are more of a creative bent where LinkedIn looks pretty stuffy? In the US, Behance, a network for creatives previously raised $6.5 million and now the general idea has moved across the pond in the shape of The Dots.
Aimed at the so-called ‘No Collar’ professionals (creatives in… Read More

Joblift, a European job site in the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands, has raised €10 million in a funding round led by the London/Berlin VC DN Capital. The round was joined by Picus Capital and existing investors Cherry Ventures, btov and TruVenturo. The fundraising brings the total raised by two-year old Joblift to €12m.
The Berlin-based startup aggregates jobs data from multiple… Read More

WhatsApp has always said that it has no plans to put ads into its own app, but this is not stopping Facebook, which now owns WhatsApp, from figuring out other ways of monetizing the hugely popular messaging service, which has around 1 billion daily users.
Today, Facebook is launching a new ad unit that will let businesses create a link between the two platforms: advertisers can now include… Read More

Target, America’s other favorite old-line retailer (the one that’s not Walmart), is buying delivery startup Shipt in a $550 million all-cash transaction. The deal is another example of how every store in America is responding to the very real threat that Amazon will drink their milkshake and eat their lunch, shortly after it delivers those things to their doors in 30 minutes or less. Read More

Being an astronaut living and working aboard the International Space Station shouldn’t mean that you have to miss out on much-anticipated movie releases like Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In fact, it should probably mean the opposite, which is why it’s great news that NASA will work with Disney to arrange a screening for ISS crew of the new movie, which is arriving in theatres in the U.S. Read More

EBay today announced another acquisition today that underscores the company’s current focus on building out better data tools for third-party sellers on its platform, to help it compete better with the likes of Amazon and other marketplaces to attract their business. It’s acquiring Terapeak, a Toronto-based startup that has built a platform that crunches data about supply, demand… Read More

Japanese company ispace has raised $90.2 million in a Series A funding round, an amount it’s calling the “largest ever” Series A in commercial space financing. The funding comes from Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, Development Bank of Japan, Tokyo Broadcasting System, Konika Minolta and others, and will help the company continue its progress towards a very… Read More

T-Mobile is getting into the paid TV business, with the acquisition of Layer3 TV, a TV tech company, and plans announced to launch its own offering sometime next year. T-Mobile’s John Legere revealed the pay TV ambitions for the so-called “Un-carrier” on its YouTube channel today.
The plan involves building a service that avoids long-term contracts, as well as complex bundles… Read More

A team of MIT research have engineered plants that glow in the dark, using luciferase, the enzyme that lights up firefly butts. The answer to the question of why, precisely, anyone would want to do such a thing is clearly, “because science is cool.”
The longer and slightly more boring answer, however, has to do with energy savings. Thus far, the scientists have only been able… Read More

You’re probably going to get a better deal when you buy consumer products — like paper towels — wholesale, but at the same time you’re also buying a very, very large package of said consumer products. So, they might not always fit in your apartment.
Wholesale goods are the primary play for a startup called Boxed, a retailer looking to play the sort of… Read More

Crowdfunding service and Kickstarter-competitor Indiegogo is now offering an ICO service alongside its partner, MicroVentures. The company will allow users to participate in SEC-complaint ICOs and, like its slow-burning equity crowdfunding service, will pick and choose startups that match certain exacting criteria.
These tokens sales will be SEC complaint and the sales are performed within… Read More

Amazon announced today it has expanded its same-day delivery and one-day shipping service to thousands more markets across the U.S., just in time for last-minute holiday shopping. Before, these services were available to Prime members in 5,000 cities and towns, the retailer tells us. Now, they’re available in over 8,000.
The market expansion is not just focused on serving major metros… Read More